“The Nexus One is where web meets phone,” says Google vice president of Android project management Mario Queiroz, pictured above. “It’s an exemplar of what’s possible on mobile phones. It belongs in an emerging category of devices which we call superphones.”

The phone will retail for $180 with a 2-year contract with T-Mobile, but will also be available for $530 unlocked (spot on with the latest speculation). It ships today and is available for purchase immediately at Google’s new online store. The Nexus One will be available on Verizon and Vodaphone networks this spring, Google says.

Google’s Nexus One will not only have to compete against other web-enabled handheld devices like the iPhone and Palm Pre, but also other Android phones such as the Motorola Droid. By releasing its own phone, Google puts itself in direct competition with other members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a consortium of mobile hardware and software developers and carriers, all of whom have been working on Google’s Linux-based Android operating system. It could represent a tricky balance for the company to maintain.Oh boy, you heard that right. Google’s slinging its Nexus One to Verizon in the Spring for an undisclosed amount. At a purchase page that went live during the company’s product launch event in Mountain View, users are notified that the phone will soon be available on America’s largest carrier. Two things are immediately interesting here — for starters, it’s not coming (right away, at least) to bump heads with the iPhone on AT&T, and secondly, Google is openly suggesting that you buy Motorola’s (as in, not HTC’s) Droid now if you just can’t wait a day longer for some of that Android goodness. If AT&T wasn’t scared, it should be now.